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Investing.com -- Here are the biggest analyst moves in the area of artificial intelligence (AI) for this week.

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Citi trims Nvidia stock price target ahead of earnings

Citi lowered its price target for NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA ) from $175 to $163 ahead of the company’s February 26 earnings report but maintained a Buy rating.

The firm cited concerns over mid-term AI diffusion restrictions and potential weakness in AI infrastructure spending as factors behind the stock’s recent decline.

“We model in-line Jan/Apr-Q and believe expectations are for ~$38B/$42.5B sales for the Jan/Apr-Qs given supply chain indications for the Blackwell to ramp more meaningfully mid this year,” Citi wrote.

Investors are closely watching Nvidia’s earnings and its March GTC conference for updates on the Blackwell architecture and AI spending trends. Nvidia shares have remained range-bound since June, with declining gross margins weighing on sentiment.

“We expect the gross margins to trough in the Apr-Q,” Citi said, noting that China-related risks contributed to a 7% cut in its EPS estimates for the calendar years 2025 and 2026.

Still, Citi remains positive on Nvidia’s long-term potential. “We believe NVDA stock is approaching valuation support levels, trading at mid 20’s P/E & 25% discount to ASIC peer average,” the analysts wrote.

AI demand continues to drive optimism, but near-term uncertainties could keep the stock under pressure until clearer guidance emerges.

Piper Sandler says buy post-earnings weakness in Google stock

Google stock fell more than 7% Wednesday, a day after the company reported mixed Q4 results, but {{0|Piper Sandler}} sees the pullback as a buying opportunity.

Google owner Alphabet’s (NASDAQ: GOOGL ) revenue grew 12% year-over-year in the quarter, slightly exceeding expectations, though EBITDA came in below forecasts.

Search and YouTube performed well, with Search revenue 1% above {{0|Piper Sandler}}’s estimate and YouTube 4% higher, aided by political ad spending. However, Google Cloud, despite growing 30% year-over-year, fell 3% short of the firm’s estimate.

The company’s CEO Sundar Pichai said its AI chatbot has been implemented across all seven of Google’s products, and the highlighted increasing adoption of its Vertex (NASDAQ: VRTX ) AI and Flash 2.0.

Meanwhile, the company surpassed its $100 billion Cloud/YouTube revenue run rate target, reaching $110 billion.

“Search growth was led by financial services & retail,” analysts Thomas Champion and James Callahan wrote.

For 2025, new CFO Ruth Porat projected capital expenditures of about $75 billion, well above the Street’s $58 billion estimate and exceeding {{0|Piper Sandler}}’s prior $62 billion forecast. Depreciation growth is also expected to accelerate after rising 28% in 2024.

{{0|Piper Sandler}} slightly trimmed its estimates for Google but remains positive on its fundamentals despite some Cloud capacity constraints.

The analysts maintained an Overweight rating on the stock, saying they are “buyers on weakness.”

Meta, Google stocks ‘most unfavorably positioned’ amid tariff threats, says Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC )

Wells Fargo analysts see Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ: META ) and Google as the “most unfavorably positioned” internet stocks following President Trump’s executive orders imposing 25% tariffs on Mexican and most Canadian imports and 10% on goods from China.

The orders also eliminate the Section 321 customs de minimis exemption, which previously allowed imports under $800 to enter the US tariff-free. Analysts noted that while Temu, Shein, and other cross-border merchants had already started near-shoring goods in anticipation of de minimis changes, tariffs on Mexico and Canada now raise costs even for those shipments.

As a result, "higher prices to American consumers for low-cost cross-border goods" are expected.

Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN ) and Etsy (NASDAQ: ETSY ) are viewed as the biggest beneficiaries due to reduced competition from Chinese cross-border sellers. "Closing Section 321 narrows pricing gap; [we] believe ETSY and AMZN are most favorably positioned," the note states.

Analysts estimate that Temu, Shein, and TikTok Shop will generate $78 billion in US e-commerce sales in 2025, up 40% year-over-year, capturing 6% of the market.

For Etsy, lower competition could improve marketing efficiency. A return to customer acquisition costs seen in Q3 2022 could add ~20% to 2025 EBITDA. Amazon is expected to benefit from higher average order values, which analysts estimate will be ~40bps accretive to 2025 operating income margins.

Meanwhile, Meta and Google are "most exposed to cross-border e-commerce trends," with an estimated 11% of Meta’s ad revenue and 7% of Google’s search revenue coming from China-based advertisers.

While Meta's exposure may be somewhat limited by shifting ad spend, Wells Fargo sees a significant impact from tariff-driven changes in cross-border commerce.

Palantir is ‘meme mega-cap’ stock, says ex-JPMorgan top strategist

Former JPMorgan top strategist Marko Kolanovic dubbed Palantir Technologies Inc (NASDAQ: PLTR ) a “meme mega-cap” stock after its recent rapid ascent.

In a tweet, Kolanovic questioned its valuation, writing, “No matter how one looks at valuations, doesn't make lot of sense. Congrats to US exceptionalism, now there is a meme Mega cap (+bonus creepy earnings calls).”

Shares jumped 24% on Tuesday, followed by another 9.8% jump on Thursday. The rally has pushed Palantir’s market capitalization past $250 billion, placing it among the largest US public companies.

Kolanovic’s remark highlights the stock’s rapid rise, driven by excitement over AI and government contracts. Once a niche defense and analytics firm, Palantir has seen its valuation surge on speculation about its AI prospects.

Despite skepticism, bullish investors remain committed, with the stock at the center of a debate between those who see it as an AI leader and others, like Kolanovic, who view its gains as overdone.

AMD stock downgraded amid weakening AI momentum

Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ: AMD ) tumbled Wednesday after Citi downgraded the stock from Buy to Neutral, citing slowing AI growth, weaker margin leverage, and concerns over inventory buildup. The downgrade extends AMD’s recent downtrend.

Citi also slashed its price target from $175 to $110, noting that AMD’s AI revenue is expected to be flat to down in the first half of 2025, lagging behind peers.

“AMD didn’t provide AI revenue guidance, and it appears AMD’s AI revenue is flat to down for 1H25 with margin dilution,” Citi wrote.

While AMD reported better-than-expected Q4 revenue of $7.66 billion, surpassing consensus ($7.51 billion) and Citi’s estimate ($7.50 billion), analysts raised concerns about a potential CPU inventory build following strong Q4 shipments from both AMD and Intel (NASDAQ: INTC ).

Despite 12% sequential revenue growth in Q4, analysts pointed out that gross margin only rose 90 basis points, even as sales climbed 31% in the second half of 2024, signaling weak operating leverage.

AMD’s Q1 guidance of $7.10 billion was slightly above expectations, but Citi warned that softening AI momentum and risks of a CPU inventory correction could pressure future results. The firm cut its 2025 revenue and EPS estimates.

“We downgrade AMD from Buy to Neutral given slowing AI growth (lower multiple), poor leverage, and risk of an inventory correction,” Citi concluded.